CAFE Standard: Superheroes Aren’t the Only Beneficiaries. From time to time, news stories will flood the channels of humans performing remarkable feats of strength. These amazing displays generally take place when someone sees a loved one’s life put in danger. With what’s clinically called “hysterical strength,” people have even been known to lift cars.
There is a good chance that the majority of the things you use on a regular basis were created using a hydroforming process. The vehicle you drive every day and the bicycle your children ride every day after school were built using a hydroforming process. Hydroforming is an effective and efficient process that is used to form metals. The hydroforming process holds a variety of features that make it an increasingly popular choice in a variety of industries, including the automotive industry.
The technique that is used to create hydroformed metal bellows that are used in multiple industries is known as tube hydroforming. Tube hydroforming is used in a variety of industries that produce parts and components you use on a daily basis. Some of the industries that use the tube hydroforming process are listed below:
Over the years, tubular hydroforming has been used in a variety of industries, including the appliance industry and the automotive industry. Tubular hydroforming has grown to be an increasingly popular method that is used to create parts that are made from aluminum. Manufacturers in the automotive and appliance industries are using the tubular hydroforming process to create parts that are lightweight, yet not lacking when it comes to strength. Tubular hydroforming is also used so new parts can be created after exploring the boundaries and thinking outside the box.
Hydraulic bulge test in hydroforming. As with all operations creating shapes and parts out of metal, the stress and strain must be tested to ensure safety. If a company is creating car roofs using hydroforming out of sheets of metal, hydraulic bulge testing can help determine if the car roof can take the required stress and strain of driving and even accidents.
Tube hydroforming is accomplished in one of two ways, either high pressure or low pressure. The desired shape and strength of the metal tube determine the level of pressure that will be used.
First developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, tube hydroforming is the process by which pressurized fluid, either hydraulic fluid or water, is used to expand and shape metal tubes into the contours of a die. Since there are no welded seams, tubular hydroforming can be used to fabricate structural parts that are lighter, more rigid, and stronger than stamped sheet metal.
Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new welding process that was invented at The Welding Institute in Cambridge, UK in 1991. FSW is a solid-state joining process that uses frictional heat combined with accurately directed forging pressure to produce high integrity welded joints for extruded or wrought aluminum. The process can also be used to join copper, titanium, and certain alloys. This automated frictional welding process is more robust than other joining processes and is a good fit for industries that must employ high-volume production, such as the automotive industry.
While it may still be seen as one of the newer methods in the industry, especially when compared to the conventional or traditional stamping processes, tube hydroforming continues to have a large impact in the automotive industry and a host of other industries. Why is tube hydroforming having such a great impact in these industries? Why is tube hydroforming a popular choice over the older techniques?
The hydroforming method has been around for more than six decades, but there have been many advancements and innovations that have changed the way each industry thinks about their profits, manufacturing strategies, design, etc. For many years now, die casting has been the preferred metal forming option for a variety of industries, including the following:
